What to do if you find a dog...

[lain13ego]

Normally, if I found a dog I would look for its home. This time when my fiance brought a shih tzu home we both decided to keep it. He was in bad shape, covered in fleas, obvious irritation to his eyes, and matted on his underside. I'm a sucker for animals, and I got an appointment for the vet. He has an ulcer in his right eye and had an infected sore under the left eye, we left the vets office paying over 100 dollars for exams and medication. We are now going back every week for check ups and refills of the eye medication.

What I don't understand is why people ask me if I'm going to try to find his owners. No way.

Am I totally out of line? I wonder what would happen if I somehow ran into the previous owners of the dog (not that they'd recognize him now that he's cleaned up), but I don't think I technically have any right to keep him if they could prove ownership. He had no tag, chip or anything to identify him. I feel I should have rights to him as i've spent money and time taking care of him administering pills and eye ointment...

anybody ever find a dog they kept?

his name is Bowser

[Lone_Raider]

I wouldn't give him back, nor even post a sign saying you found him. Obviously the people who owned him before didn't take care of him, and even if he just "ran away" from them, that's still a little hard to believe. I have owned a Shih tzu in the past, they are not particularly fast or sneaky, and when she started to wander off I would see her and go grab her before she got to far. Usually she came back on her own anyway, but still its not a dog that you typically lose to running away.

You took care of the dog and fixed it up, I say its yours. I have never found a dog, but I found two kittens over the years and kept both. One was only about 3 weeks old and I think he was only lost from his mother rather then abandoned. He was on a tire under a car in a parking lot and covered in grease. If someone threw a kitten there on purpose, well they didn't deserve to have him in the first place. And I found another kitten in the same parking lot a few years later (yes I realize that's odd). He was about 1 month old and just kind of wandered into my dad's shop, he was in good shape, but I mean who the hell lets a 1 month kitten loose in a city near a 4 way intersection? I put a few signs up for that kitten seeing that he was older and in good shape, but no one claimed him so I kept him.

But again, I'd keep the dog, don't even put up a sign. People that let animal's get into that condition don't deserve the right to own animals.

[Rainne]

I found my dog like that, all sickly and in really bad shape. I talked to the town animal officer, who said that once I reported finding him, the original owners had 7 days to come back and claim him. If they wanted him back, they would have to compensate me for all of the money I spent on him during those days. So we got him all fixed at the vet and nobody ever claimed him, so he was ours until a few weeks ago when we had to put him down (he was about 12, went into kidney failure)

I don't think you're out of line to keep the dog. He was probably abandoned for a long time if he was in that rough shape. Good luck with it. :)

[ittakessome]

i wouldnt try to find his owners.


but i do know that by law (down here in broward county, FL) when you find a dog you have to report it to the humane society. but i really doubt that they would do anything to you. i have no idea why they have that law... but they do.

[AllHailTheThief]

Even if the dog is sick because it's been lost for so long, or due to its running away, it's been gone for so long that the original owners have probably counted it as gone for good.

Either that or they're the type of sick fucks you see on that animal cop show on animal planet who refuse to take care of their house pets. Fucking twisted bastards.

[Bath of Glitter]

Good for you.
Heck no don't bother with the owners. It suggests to me if he endured all those things, he's been going through crap for awhile, and being lost just doesn't add up. You'd think he'd die in the time it takes have such ailments. Eh just a thought.

[The Sage]

if i found a dog like that - and i mean a Shih tzu! - i'd get rid of him!!!

a beagle on the other hand.... :D

[Asphodelle13]

I wish I could find a wandering Golden Retriever. Like from that Homeward Bound movie. I love those dogs. I think it wasn't wrong of you to keep the dog. I love animals so I know I'd do the same. If I saw a missing dog flyer somewhere with the owners sounding all heartbroken(like if the dog ran away) then my conscience would force me to take him back home. Especially if there was a reward involved.

[Rainbow Brite]

I normally try to seek out the owner, but in this case it doesn't seem as though the former owner cared about the dog to begin with.

My dad took in a stray kitten a few months ago and it act like my dad's best buddy. From what my mom says, the cat waits for my dad to get home from work every day. My dad was trying to give him to me, but I'm not allowed pets and I work 50-60 hrs/ week at a minimum. I dont think it'd be fair to leave a pet alone that much.

[Nurseman]

I'd take any dog I could get. But my landlady.........

Sigh


Technically, a dog is considered "property" and if the owners show up they will have a legal right to claim the dog as theirs. If you want to contest it in court, well, it will cost a LOT more than $100. Of course, once you point out the condition of this dog when you found it, THEY might be in some serious hot water. (You have a negotiating tool.)


Hummmm, hope I spelled that right.

[Wolf]

Of course, once you point out the condition of this dog when you found it, THEY might be in some serious hot water. (You have a negotiating tool.)


Hummmm, hope I spelled that right.

Agreed. Anyone taking that poor care of an animal has no chance in a court. You may lose the dog or pay a fine, but they won't get that dog back.


I have two shih-tzus, one's fat and lazy, the other one is a runt pup that I've trained to kill. The wee one is bleeding from the uterus for the first time. She's wearing a diaper.

[Nonny]

I tend to agree with Nurseman and Wolf.

[Deidre]

I'd check what local laws state about this sort of thing, for one. You don't want to be breaking any laws unless you truly have to.

My mother always complains when I grab stray dogs, because laws here state that if I do that, the dog becomes my responsibility... there are no pounds and the police won't take it... so if I take the dog in I am responsible for its wellbeing and me not treating it if it's ill (not to mention letting it loose again) is animal cruelty. 99.9% of the time stray dogs are recent runaways, though (we have a long history in this country of high pricetags on dogs and "dog owners' taxes", mutts and purebreds alike, so the idea of letting a dog out on purpose isn't really a part of society) so I don't know why she makes such a fuss out of it.

[lain13ego]

I'm really not sure on our laws here, but I haven't seen any signs that an owner is trying to find this dog. I just thought it was odd so many people were giving me grief about my plan to keep the dog. mainly i wanted to see the dog to health, but its taking a lot longer than planned. we're going back to the vet every so often, just to have the eye rechecked. its been a while and there is still no conclusion about how this is going to turn out. we just have to keep treating the eye and hope it heals.

[water nymph]

I think that it is wonderful of you to take in a stray dog and absorb the costs just like that. If there are owners they should at least pay you the medical bills you incurred but somehow I get the feeling that no one is going to take the dog from you. Still, be safe and cover your ass.

[AbnormalBob]

I think that it is wonderful of you to take in a stray dog and absorb the costs just like that. If there are owners they should at least pay you the medical bills you incurred but somehow I get the feeling that no one is going to take the dog from you. Still, be safe and cover your ass.

I agree. I'd call the humane society or whoever takes care of these things in your area. It is entirely possible that the reason he/she was in such bad shape was because he/she ran away, no one found him, and he didn't go back for whatever reason (lost?).

Anyways, in the meanwhile, keep taking care of the dog, and you probably will be able to keep your new friend.

But remember, that dog could be a little 5 year olds best friend, and his condition was not related to abuse.